S: So we survived our first sleeper train, it wasn't too bad at all. Mr K got a good night sleep after borrowing my ear plugs. We arrived in Goa pretty fresh faced, and tried to get a tuk-tuk from the station. As usual it's the game of how little we can pay, and we weren't prepared to pay a pound. So instead we caught the local bus to the Sé Cathedral for a grand total of 16p. We had a brilliant time looking round all the churches and ruins. (Oh and having our picture taken every 5 minutes by the locals lol) Then we caught the next bus to Panji (get us locals) for 30p. We then navigated through the streets and found ourselves a room for the night which included my first cockroach about the size of 10p - good job I'm not over squeamish.

J: Don't let Sam fool you, she had an extra pair of ear-plugs but chose not to use them..... I don't know why. The train was great fun, just sleeping and waking up in a different place, although we had the air-con train which I didn't like as it was so cold it gave me goose-bumps and made the 37 degree heat feel even worse the next day.
One of the museums cost us 20p entry but we off loaded our big bags for the day so that was worth it alone.
This cockroach was barely the size of a 5p and I'm not even sure it was a cockroach, just a light brown bug/fly, friendly thing in the shower. If the rooms so far are as bad as it gets I would be really impressed! Bless Sam for what is likely to come lol.

J: We had a lovely meal out in Panji and even had meat for the first time in days! Then about 1am a massive lightning storm came over us, we thought the monsoon was here early but in the morning all was hot again.

J: We made it to a beach village, Arambol, where we were able to just chill out for a bit by the beach, it feels great to just stop and enjoy this after so long of saving and planning, it is wonderful to relax.
We hired a scooter from our hostel for a couple days to explore the area, it was great to just go where we wanted and thanks to the wonderful Maps2Go app we were able to navigate back easy enough. Though Sam was happy to be pillion and I drove like an angel.

S: We did indeed drive for miles on our very expensive scooter, which cost £2 for the day. We hired it via the hostel, no helmets, no mirrors, no speedo, no odometer, no back brake, no MOT, no tax, no insurance required and the only safety advice was drive slow lol. The reason we travelled miles I hasten to add, is we had both seen on the bus in, a sign post for a temple we wanted to visit. So off we go, after 12 miles searching and laughing going just two more minutes further we decided that we should turn round as we had nearly reached the town of Mapusa (where we had got the bus from). On the way back about 1 mile from the town of Harmal where we were staying - yep you guessed it - there was the sign saying Temple this way lol. But it was worth us going, as we arrived a man was trying to knock ripe mangos off the tree and offered us one (James in true Bear Grylls style whipped out his Swiss Army knife, cut a mango up and OMG they were delicious) Obviously James felt the need to repay this kindness and as he is 'slightly' taller than the average Indian man, he gets hold of the stick and starts hitting the mangos out of the tree. Goa has been a beautiful and magical place to visit. We had dinner on the beach one night and watched an electric storm in the distance.
(Although note to myself - Mosquitoes love me!! Always remember the Tiger Balm, as I look like a pin cushion)

J: As Sam said it's been amazing in Goa, really chilling by the beach, enjoying the evenings, listening to the sea and watching the sun set while enjoying a beer.... could have done that in Lowestoft. But swimming in the sea here is like being in the bath it's so warm.
So the scooter we had was on the wrong side of the law and I was keen to pass any police we saw.... So my wonderful wife took me to a jail to visit, but it wasn't just a tourist place it was a real jail and there were more police in the area than I could count! We didn't even have helmets which after we left the local village the signs indicated was a must (I wondered if she was trying to drop me off at the jail). But I do love the scooter in India, just press the horn all the time, over take all the time and then you fit in. But I did need a new navigator as mine states right 3 times then points left telling me I'm going wrong?!?
Something I must share with you, is the problem my wonderful wife has with jaywalking, I'm permanently saving her from the car/busses/bikes as she likes to walk 3 feet into the road, she needs a reflective jacket I swear.